Introduced in the very first chapter of One Piece on July 18, 1997, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #34, Red-Haired Shanks is an incredibly powerful character who is especially known as a master of Haki. Over the years, Eiichiro Oda has painted Shanks as a Haki master on several occasions, such as chapter 434, which was officially released on November 13, 2006, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #50, where he traded blows with Whitebeard.
More recently, One Piece showed us Shanks’ incredible Haki mastery once again in chapter 1055, and then in chapter 1079, which was released on March 27, 2023, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #17. Shanks’ status as a master of Haki in the current era is clear for us to see, but in the climax of the Elbaf arc, One Piece has officially replaced him as the strongest Haki user. This is because Nerona Imu, the King of the World and the strongest character in the entire series, has officially made his move. As we await the release of One Piece chapter 1192 on September 6, 2026, Imu’s Haki continues to grow.
Eiichiro Oda Shows Nerona Imu As The Strongest Haki User Alive Over Shanks
In the climax of the Elbaf arc, all of us One Piece fans were treated to a stellar display by the King of the World, Nerona Imu, who descended upon the country in Chapter 1179, which was released on April 5, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #19. Few of us were expecting Imu to show up on Elbaf and fight against the threat of Nika and Nidhoggr. However, what was even more surprising was the fact that Imu’s powers went beyond anything that Oda had shown in the story previously. Prior to Elbaf, the peak of power in One Piece was shown to us by the likes of the Yonko, which includes Red-Haired Shanks himself. Other than the Yonko, only the likes of the Pirate King stood out as the strongest. However, the climax of the Elbaf arc, which began with the release of chapter 1179 and continues to this day as we approach One Piece chapter 1192, has painted a completely different picture.
“Was that Haki stronger than Red Hair’s? I didn’t sense any hostility in it!” — Dorry and Brogy compare Shanks’s Haki to Joy Boy’s
With the power of the legendary Akuma no Mi, or The Devil’s Fruit, Nerona Imu has proven to be a menace for even the likes of Yonko to take down. To put into perspective how strong Imu is, after descending upon Elbaf, he was able to quickly defeat the likes of Zoro and Sanji, as well as Hajrudin. He then took on Loki in battle, who was as strong as a Yonko himself, and easily defeated him without even going all out. He then followed up by defeating and nearly killing Monkey D. Luffy, one of the current Emperors of the Sea in One Piece chapter 1188 on July 26, 2026. Shortly after, Imu faced off against Scopper Gaban, the Left Arm of the Pirate King, who himself is no less than a Yonko. Despite that, Imu was able to deal deadly damage to him and still continues to fight.
“Of course I know that thou art not Joy Boy! Joy Boy was not this weak!!” — Imu defeats Luffy, One Piece Chapter #1188
Imu does all this while being severely nerfed, as was confirmed to us in One Piece Chapter 1182 on May 10, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #24. This weakness of Imu was once again highlighted in chapter 1190, which was released on August 10, 2026, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Double Issue #37-38. Naturally, a big portion of Imu’s powers stems from his Haki, which Scopper Gaban himself claimed was even stronger than anything that he had ever witnessed in his life in One Piece Chapter 1180, making him the official King of Haki in One Piece in the current era.
“What’s going on? Even at God Valley, I never felt Haki like this!” — Scopper Gaban shocked at Imu’s Haki power, One Piece Chapter #1180
Why Imu’s Haki Is Stronger Than Shanks’s
When it comes to Haki, most fans immediately assume that Shanks is the absolute strongest. This is because Shanks has shown us the most unique applications of Haki. For instance, in chapter 1055, Shanks showed a long-range variant of Haki that was powerful enough to paralyze Admiral Green Bull and force him to leave Wano alone. In Chapter 1079, when he faced off against Eustass Kid, he was able to take him down with a single strike of his Haki-infused blade. Similarly, Shanks also has the ability to prevent his enemies from seeing the future using an ability known as Observation Killing, which was confirmed to us by Eiichiro Oda himself in One Piece Volume 4 Billion.
“Though you can control the Color of the Supreme King, you can’t train it to be stronger directly. It is the embodiment of the spirit of the user. The only way to make it stronger is for the user to grow stronger.” — Silvers Rayleigh explains Supreme King Haki, One Piece Chapter #597
All things considered, Shanks is the most skilled user of Conqueror’s Haki in the story so far. That said, as explained by Silvers Rayleigh in One Piece Chapter 597, which was officially released on August 30, 2010, we know for a fact that Supreme King Haki grows as the user grows stronger. In other words, the fact that there is a massive disparity between Imu and Shanks in terms of power level means that Imu is the strongest Conqueror’s Haki user in One Piece. That is also evident from Gaban’s very own comments. Gaban aside, Imu’s Haki levels being preposterous were also confirmed to us by Loki himself in Chapter 1152. As things stand, there is no doubt that Shanks no longer stands at the pinnacle of Haki in One Piece.
“What could be the source of this preposterous Haki? You’ll have to let me free” — Loki senses Imu’s Haki, One Piece Chapter #1152
Only Luffy’s Haki Will Surpass Imu’s In One Piece’s Final Saga
It goes without saying that Shanks is one of the strongest Haki users in One Piece, but it is unlikely for him to be able to reach a level where he can match Imu in terms of Haki output. The only person this is reserved for is none other than the current Nika of the world, Luffy. In One Piece Chapter 1122, Eiichiro Oda showcased Luffy’s future level to us for the very first time when he unveiled Joy Boy’s Conqueror’s Haki. This Haki was so strong that it even caused immense pain to Nerona Imu, the King of the World. Given that Luffy must reach the same level as Joy Boy and potentially even go on to surpass him, we can say with certainty that his Supreme King Haki will go beyond the level of Nerona Imu. Only with Supreme King Haki can Luffy be able to deal with Imu and his immortality, and we absolutely cannot wait to see how he goes on to reach this level in the future.
For now, we are eagerly awaiting the release of One Piece Chapter 1192, which is said to be published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #41 on September 6, 2026. This chapter is, as expected, going to build towards Luffy improving his Supreme King Haki usage and eventually surpassing and dethroning Imu as the new king of Haki in One Piece.
All the new chapters of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece series are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.